China to send Iran gasoline as UN mulls sanctions

Singapore: A state-owned Chinese refiner
plans to ship 30,000 metric tons of gasoline to Iran after
European traders halted shipments ahead of possible new UN
sanctions, according to Singapore ship brokers.

Beijing has growing commercial and political ties with
Iran and has resisted US pressure for sanctions to press
Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. Chinese officials say
the country is entitled to energy trade.
Unipec, the trading arm of China Petroleum & Chemical
Corp., or Sinopec, plans to load the oil tanker Hongbo with
the gasoline tomorrow in Singapore, said the brokers, who
asked not to be identified further to avoid jeopardizing
customer relations.

They said the tanker will likely go directly to Iran.

The gasoline shipment suggests Chinese refiners are
moving to fill the void left by European suppliers, who halted
sales to Iran earlier this year.

A deputy Chinese foreign minister, Cui Tiankai, said
yesterday that China is ready to discuss all ideas that UN
Security Council members put forward to deal with Iran`s
nuclear program. But he said any agreement on Iran must
involve all parties, not just one or two countries.
Cui said Iran`s legitimate right to have energy trade
with other countries should not be undermined as the world
pursues a settlement of the nuclear standoff. Beijing`s
position on energy could make it more difficult for the United
States and China to resolve differences on Iran.